All the things

So, I might have gotten a little behind on my posts. 2 shipments that I missed last week and then, today, seven packages showed up! SEVEN!

Needless to say, I’ll be doing these in groups.

First off… My phone has been walking around, unprotected, for over a year now. I kept meaning to buy a case (and the screen protector shown previously), but it never happened. Then, I decided enough was enough, and got cheap Chinese stuff!

This case was $1.79 on AliExpress when I ordered it (it’s since gone up to $1.96.) With free shipping, it was supposed to arrive in 20-38 days, but only took 17.

It’s a decent little case. Soft but rigid silicone, it feels like. It doesn’t make the phone too bulky, and gives it a slightly nicer grip, but it does make it a little harder to reach the buttons on the side, and the pattern is printed on the outside, so you can see a shadow under it. I like it, though.

These were for my daughter, whose earbuds are always breaking. The last pair lasted maybe a week! I figure, if she’s going to keep breaking them, might as well just get her cheap ones. And these had black & silver stars on them, as a sort of reference to Black Rock Shooter, so even if they suck, she’ll use them just to look cool.

These earbuds were $0.49 on AliExpress, with free shipping. They were expected to arrive in 20-39 days, and took 22, so well within the expected delivery window.

Now, the quality of these is about what you’d expect for a half-dollar pair of headphones. They sound a little tinny, and the soft in-ear pieces are kinda weird shaped. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t last all that long, but for the price, it’s not a big deal. And my daughter was very excited to get these, cheap or not!

I actually ordered two of these eyeglass cleaners, after seeing them on a video from AliHolic, but immediately gave one to my daughter, who has been having trouble keeping her new glasses clean.

These were $0.39 each on AliExpress when I purchased them, but the price has gone up to $0.65 each (and it seems this particular seller no longer has them available.) Free shipping was supposed to take 20-39 days, and they arrived in 25.

These work ok on dust, but any oil on the lenses seems to just get spread around. Haven’t tried them with eyeglass cleaner spray, though – that might help.

These are kinda interesting. This is matatabi, aka silvervine. It’s a vine that grows mainly in China and Japan, and has an effect on cats similar to catnip.

These 5 sticks cost me $0.76 on AliExpress (the price has increased to $0.84 as of this moment.) They were on the low side of the 22-38 days expected for shipping, arriving in 22 days.

I was curious about how my cat would respond to these sticks, and I wasn’t disappointed. He sniffed one at first, then walked away… And less than a minute later, he returned, and was rubbing against it, and chewing on it, and just loving on the poor, defenseless stick.

Now, if you do buy this, be very careful when opening the package – I accidentally cut through the resealable bag and having the open bag near my desk was starting to irritate my lungs a bit. It does have a smell, and if smells tend to get to you, make sure you either keep the bag intact, or find a Ziploc bag to keep them in.

…and on to the jewelry! This is a selection of ear cuffs that I purchased during one of my mini buying sprees.

The two 3-ring cuffs were $0.19 each on AliExpress, with free shipping supposed to arrive in 30-50 days, and they arrived in only 20. Quality-wise, they feel a bit cheap – almost plasticky – but they look good, and slide on easy enough, with only a little bit of work required.

The silver bar cuff was $0.33 on AliExpress (currently $0.32), again with free shipping. It arrived in 20 days, right in the 20-38 day estimated range. I didn’t notice the little hole on it when I ordered it (looking at the photos on the item confirm it was my error, not the seller’s.) This is a heavier metal than the ring cuffs, which would be good – if I could manage to get it on my ear! The opening is a little small, and it doesn’t want to slide on. It’ll take a little manipulation to get it to work. This might be best if you wanted to add charms or something to it – the ring would be the perfect place to attach them.

The silver snake cuff was $0.40 on AliExpress, with free shipping. This, too, arrived in 20 days, which was at the end of the expected 12-20 days. I love this thing, but it’s too small for my ear, and the bit that goes through your ear really doesn’t work with my stretched ears, so this is going into the gift box. It’s a decently heavy metal, though, and I’m sure I’ll find someone who would love it.

The black dragon cuff was $0.32 on AliExpress, from the same seller as the snake. It came in the same package as the snake cuff, with the same delivery times. Again, I love it, but it just doesn’t work – too small, and stretched ears. I think I know who is getting this one, though!

And, of course… More jewelry!

The Hamsa necklace and feather ear cuff both came from the same AliExpress seller, at $0.35 and $0.29 respectively (currently at $0.48 and $0.32). They were expected to take 20-38 days, and arrived in 25. I love these – the quality is a lot better than I expected at those prices. The metal is solid and not flimsy, and there aren’t any major visual flaws that I can see.

The ring was $0.90 on AliExpress, with free shipping estimated at 30-50 days, and arriving in only 25 days. It’s one of the more expensive little pieces I’ve purchased, and the quality actually shows it. I expected a cheap-looking, flimsy ring that would break when I inevitably had to resize it to make it fit. Instead, it fit my pinky finger perfectly, and actually feels sturdy enough to be worn on a semi-regular basis. Again, no major visual flaws that I can see – I’m pretty happy with this!

And here comes the geekery – Harry Potter style!

I paid for upgraded ePacket shipping on both the $0.95 prefect badge and the $1.40 time turner keychain, as they’re gifts for someone whose birthday is at the end of the month. I didn’t get the cheapest versions available on these two, as I wanted to make sure they got here in time to be gifted – and they did, even though the time turner’s tracking number still has it caught up in customs. Both were expected to arrive in 12-20 days, and arrived in 20. Considering they were hung up in customs for quite a while, that’s really not bad.

The quality on the prefect badge is excellent. It’s larger than I expected, and the enamel and gold finish look smooth and perfect. The keychain, on the other hand, has a couple rather large glue blobs where the hourglass is attached to the metal. I might try to sand the blobs off a bit before I gift it, or I might just leave it, for risk of messing it up. The keychain part is rather solid, though, which I’m glad of – I don’t think this has any risk of falling off somewhere.

The time turner necklace was only $0.85 on AliExpress, with an estimated free shipping time of 20-39 days – it arrived right in the middle, in 25 days. This necklace is missing the glue blobs of the keychain, but otherwise seems to be exactly the same pendant. The chain seems to be decent quality, so I think it’s great as it is. I’m also highly amused that this showed up on the same day as the other time turner. Perfect timing!

And, finally, the last of it for today, I swear… More geekery!

The TARDIS necklace was $0.95 on AliExpress (the price has since gone down to $0.88) with free shipping. I was surprised at the weight of this pendant – it’s nice and heavy – I’m wondering if it isn’t solid metal, though there’s a panel glued in the bottom, so I’m guessing it’s just really thick metal. The green gem on top is a bit hard to see against the metal, but I’m not really complaining about it – not sure where a green gem fits in with the TARDIS. My only issue with it is the length of the chain – it’s just too short for me. Easy enough fix, though.

The Assassin’s Creed necklace was $0.54 on AliExpress when I purchased it. It’s no longer available, but the price is now listed at $1.06! Ouch! I like this, especially for the price, but there are obvious flaws with the finish – there are major bubbles on the bottom. The cord is cheap rubber, and a bit short, but I think it’s actually the perfect length for me – not so tight that I feel like I’m choking, but not so long as to get caught up in the neck of my shirt.

Overall, I’m pleased with these purchases! The grand total for all of this was only $11.48 (not including upgraded shipping) and I think it was way more fun than, say, buying lunch at McDonalds.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s mail brings!

 

Drowning in packages

Today was a pretty decent haul. 4 items from AliExpress, an order from eBay, and my Love With Food subscription box! I knew three of these six items were coming today, but it was a nice surprise to receive the rest.

So, without further ado…

I ordered this bracelet for a friend of mine, as a bit of an inside joke. There are a few of these going around the AliExpress website – some of which say “Freedom” on the cuffs, which makes little to no sense to me, but still.

This bracelet was $0.35 on AliExpress, with free shipping. It arrived in 18 days, which is a little less than the minimum on the 20-39 days it was supposed to take.

I’m not super impressed with the quality, but it was cheap, and I can probably fix it up a bit. The cuff parts aren’t as smooth and shiny as they looked in the photo, and the jump rings holding the cuffs to the bracelet chain are really rather horribly done. That said, the chain is decent enough, at least. And adjustable, which never hurts.

Next up…

This phone spider was more of an impulse buy. I watched a video where they reviewed these, and decided to get one, mostly for my daughter, but I wanted to see how it worked, too.

At $0.98 on AliExpress, it’s a bit more than I usually spend on a whim for cheap Chinese crap, but it seems to work alright. Like the bracelet, this arrived in 18 days, while it was stated to take 20-39 days.

It works alright, and is sturdy enough, but it does feel a bit flimsy while, at the same time, it’s a bit tough to bend. Not as flexible as I thought it would be. I’m sure my daughter can find a use for it, though – even if for nothing better than a chair for a doll. (Not that, at age 13, she still plays with dolls – except when her cousin is here.)

Next up is a screen protector for my smartphone. I’ve needed one of these for a couple years now, and I’m surprised that I haven’t had any major damage in that time!

This put me out $0.74 on AliExpress – not bad for something that might save me hundreds of dollars in a replacement phone. Might. It took 13 days to arrive from China, while the shipping was estimated to take 20-39 days. So far, I’m loving these shipping times! (At least on the items that have shown up.)

It installed quickly and easily (I expected to have to remove a lot more bubbles than I did – it just sorta sucked itself onto my phone’s screen!), and fit my phone perfectly. The touch screen works just fine through it, too. It does seem to give a bit of a blue tint to my screen when it’s off, but it doesn’t affect it when on, so it works! For less than a dollar, I’d purchase another if I needed it.

This next one is a gift for my sister-in-law, who loves Wonder Woman. There are a ton of these floating around, almost all stating on their tags that they’re “Knee High Socks” when they’re nowhere near – which just adds a bit of humor to the whole thing. Whose knees are these supposed to reach?

One of my more expensive purchases, these were $1.70 on AliExpress when I purchased them, but the price has since gone up to $1.79. I paid for upgraded shipping (another $1.16) on these, as I needed them before the end of March. They were supposed to arrive in 12-20 days, and it took them 13, so nicely within the delivery timeline.

These seem to be well made, at least from the outside. There’s some fraying on the inside, where the colors meet, so I’m not expecting them to hold up too long. They’re branded “Pop Heroes” and have Trademark & Copyright information on them, but I have no idea if they’re officially licensed or not. None of that matters, really – she’ll enjoy them for as long as she can, and if they fall apart, they were cheap, and it’s not the end of the world.

Now, on to eBay…

I’ve  been working on stretching my ears for over 3 years now, and I’m almost to where I wanted to end up. I’ve tried various methods of doing the stretches, and realized the only thing that really works for me is to wait until my ears readily accept the next size – but, that means I’m waiting 6-9 months between sizes now. My last tunnels got to the point where they were falling out, but my ears weren’t ready for the next size up, so I hunted these down. They’re essentially a half-size – between the one I was at and my goal size, which I’m not quite ready for. They’re glass, so no off-gassing of plastic in my ears, and that also means that they’re heavy enough to help the stretch along to the next size.

The short plugs were $5.99 on eBay, and the longer tapers were also $5.99 on eBay, from the same seller, so they shipped together. Plus, there was a  buy one, get one 50% off sale, so I paid $4.49 each. These shipped from the US, so they only took 4 days to arrive vs the 2-4 weeks from China.

I’m incredibly happy with these. They’re a decent weight, and the tapers fit really well (still working on the plugs, but I’ll get there.) There are a couple flaws in the glass, but nothing where they’ll hang through my ears, and that’s what really matters.

And, finally…

My Love With Food box!

I’ve had a few subscription boxes through the years – yarn, snacks, craft kits… This has to be my favorite (and the only one I spend the money on currently.) It’s snacks without all the nasty junk that’s in most store-bought brands, which is incredibly important to me, as I have some chemical sensitivities, including artificial sweeteners.

I get the Deluxe box, which is $19.99/month (click that link and get 50% off your first box!) but they also have a smaller “Tasting” box that’s $9.99/month, or a gluten-free box that’s $24.99/month (all of which receive discounts if you order more than one month at a time.)

This month’s box included 2 bags of Wise brand sea salt popcorn, 2 packets of Monbana “Chocolat Salon de The”, a “Snack Box to Go” containing veggie chips and hummus (which might be coming on my road trip with me at the end of the month), dill pickle potato chips from Route 11 (not a fan of dill), chocolate emoji cookies, “Chewie Fruties” from Torie & Howard (I think I’ve tried these before, and they were like grown-up Starburts), natural fruit gumballs, espresso candy, 2 almond toffee bars (MINE!), Hippeas vegan white cheddar chickpea puffs, an 18 Rabbits date, pecan, & coconut bar, and a vanilla wafer waffle by Ruger.

I haven’t tried any of the snacks here, as I’m on an elimination diet at the moment, and don’t want to throw my results off, but I’m looking forward to being able to dig in and try some new things. (I may also have last month’s box to gorge on, too…)

…and that’s the last of it – for today. (Finally!) Can’t wait to see what’s in my mailbox tomorrow!